The 2016 petition — in which Maryland implored the EPA to add controls on the emissions of ozone-forming nitrogen dioxide (NOx) from 36 power plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — was denied last spring.

Delaware had created a similar petition that was also denied.

“The Agency has concluded that neither Delaware nor Maryland has met their burden to demonstrate that the sources they named emit or would emit ozone forming pollutants at levels that violate the Clean Air Act’s good neighbor provision for the 2008 and 2015 ozone standards,” the EPA said in a statement following the original petitions.

Still fearing elevated NOx emissions levels, Frosh said in a statement that Maryland is appealing the EPA’s decision.

“EPA’s decision to deny our petition gives a greenlight to out-of-state power plants to continue sending their pollution downwind to Maryland. Maryland strictly controls NOx emissions within its own boundaries, but other states need to do their part to keep ozone levels down,” said Frosh.

Maryland Attorney General (“AG”) Brian Frosh is not going down without a fight in his bid to defend a Maryland law prohibiting “price gouging” by generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. H.B. 631, 437th Gen. Assemb., [...]